Grieve – Support for a customs union Brexit deal ebbing away

May 14, 2019 1:51 PM

The Government’s chief Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, is reportedly visiting Brussels this week in order to find out from the EU how quickly they can make changes to the political declaration, if the talks between the Government and the Labour Party over a Brexit deal reach agreement.

Also today, a number of Conservative former Cabinet ministers wrote to the Prime Minister urging her to break off the talks with Labour, and warning that any agreement reached could be torn up by a future Conservative Prime Minister.

Commenting, Dominic Grieve MP, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said:

“It is sensible that Olly Robbins should seek clarity from our European partners about how long it would take to change the political declaration. But that doesn’t mean we are any closer to agreement in Westminster about a form of Brexit that could command a secure and stable majority in the House of Commons.

“On the evidence, what support there has been in both my own party and the Labour Party for a customs union deal now appears to be ebbing away.

“In their letter to the Prime Minister today, my former Cabinet colleagues are right to point out that no leader can bind their successor, which means that ‘any deal would be at best temporary, at worst illusory’.

“The fact that letter has been signed by Boris Johnson and other potential candidates for the party leadership should serve as a warning to all MPs who want a sensible and pragmatic outcome to this crisis. Forcing a deal through Parliament and without the agreement of the wider public at this stage in order to ‘get Brexit done’ would achieve no such thing – rather, it could plunge the country into a deeper crisis.

“The only way such a deal could command a stable majority, bringing the clarity and closure to the Brexit crisis we all desire, is if it is signed off by the people through a confirmatory vote. It is increasingly clear that the same will be true of any form of Brexit.”

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